'Dan Richards' had said FameDaddy would match up women with sperm donors that included a former Premier League footballer

Presenters Holly and Pip: 'There was something not quite right, it was so unbelievable'

This Morning has said it was "deliberately misled" by a hoaxer who claimed to head up a celebrity sperm bank.

The ITV1 show featured an interview with 'Dan Richards', a self-styled businessman who said FameDaddy would match up women with socially elite donors that included an unnamed former Premier League footballer and a rock star in their ranks.

An ITV spokeswoman said: "We obviously always make every effort to ensure the legitimacy of all the many stories which we feature on This Morning, as well as the authenticity of all guests.

"We carry out a range of checks, which in this case included verifying that this company was legally registered, and we did the interview in good faith.

Rex

"The man claiming to run a website for celebrity sperm donation was an actor working for a TV production company"

"But it now appears that the man claiming to run a website for celebrity sperm donation was an actor working for a TV production company who clearly went to great lengths to pull the wool over the eyes of the programme and our audience.

"They also managed to convince other media, appearing on radio and in newspapers.

"We are very sorry that This Morning and our viewers were deliberately misled by this stunt."

Richards had told Schofield and co-host Holly Willoughby that the service would help provide the "perfect celebrity surrogate daddy".

"What we are selling is the sperm of people who are successful, who have risen to the top of their field," he told the presenters.

“Our aim is to provide excellent levels of medical care in a supportive and nurturing environment.

"We will offer a range of top quality celebrity surrogate fathers whose contributions are exclusively available at our fertility clinic.

“Whether it is talent on the stage or pitch, having a world-beating voice, or just being very beautiful, Fame Daddy will have the perfect celebrity surrogate daddy.”